Chennai: Girl hurt as ‘bomb’ at unoccupied building goes off

CHENNAI: A Class V student suffered an injury on Friday after a ‘bomb’ at an abandoned building in Perambur r went off. Later, police recovered two more abandoned ‘bombs’ and launched a hunt for those who dumped them there. The injured girl, Gayathri, was treated at a hospital.

The victim, a resident of Rajiv Gandhi Nagar slum besides the Perambur flyover and a student of a school in the locality, was drying clothes in a building opposite her house, often used by the slum residents to dump waste, when the ‘explosion’ shook the spot, a police officer said.

Gayathri fell to the ground and sustained minor injuries to the head and hands. Recovering, she ran to her house and informed her parents who, however, did not lodge any complaint with police. A team from the ICF police station, informed of the incident by others, rushed to the spot.

A search in the area led to the discovery of two more ‘bombs’, of the kind usually used in temple festivals, said police. A team of the bomb detective and disposal squad (BDDS) was alerted.

The ‘bombs’ were filled with explosive material used in fireworks and lashed tight with a jute rope and there was no wick attached for lighting, members of the BDDS team said. “They studied them and said they had only gun powder and not any other dangerous substance,” said a police officer.

Investigation revealed that the building had remained unoccupied for the last three years. Further inquiry is on to ascertain who dumped the explosives there and if it had been done with a purpose.